The Bourne Supremacy

BY PATRICIA DRAZNIN

IN 1971, The French Connection set a whole new standard for chase scenes. And in 2004, The Bourne Supremacy is raising the bar again. Robert Ludlum’s second novel in the Bourne trilogy plays out like a two-hour high-octane chase sequence, with the CIA and other predators tracking Jason Bourne from the opening title to the closing credits.

And for that extra touch of insanity, hand-held close-up camera shots drop us right into the scenery. The jittery visuals may draw some motion sickness in overuse but they succeed in pulling us onto the screen and behind the eyes of Jason Bourne. An intense Matt Damon plays Bourne, the credible trained assassin who worked for the CIA but lost his memory after getting shot full of bullets.

An almost mythic character, Bourne is a fighting machine with the ability to smell trouble from a distance. In a passing crowd, he can spot a suspicious person that doesn’t “look” or “act right.” And in combat he moves so fast that he’s walking away before you can figure out what happened. If you can buy into Jason Bourne’s supremacy, you’re in for a whirlwind thriller.

Two years after The Bourne Identity leaves off, Jason Bourne is living in India with his girlfriend Maria and still trying to piece together his past. But when a hit man comes looking for him, the respite is over, and once again, Bourne is on the run. And while he appears to be staying a few steps ahead of his predators, we discover that he’s pursuing them.

More powerful than its predecessor, Supremacy is a two-hour roller coaster through India, Germany, and Russia, but mainly through the mind of an ex-assassin who has amnesia but still remembers how to kill. You won’t be bored.